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Alexander Verdun
Alexander is the first born son of Count Braxton Verdun and Countess Madeline Abbott-Verdun, two very well respected nobles of the Stormwind Peerage, and was conceived when both were only sixteen years of age. Originating from a noble family, Alexander was given the education expected of a nobleman's son and was offered opportunities, convenience, and nearly anything he desired. When he came of age, he threw it all away and enlisted in the Alliance Military, resulting in his father denouncing him from the family out of rage. BackgroundCategory:CharactersCategory:HumanCategory:Stormwind HumanCategory:House of VerdunCategory:SoldiersCategory:Knights Alexander was born about the same time the First War began to a noble family of the then Kingdom of Azeroth, specifically to the Verdun lineage, a relatively powerful family that was given lands within the Redridge Mountains. At the time of his birth, the household was headed by Count Chandler Verdun, the father of the then Viscount Braxton Verdun. The Verdun lineage truly despised violence, and as such, a vast majority of the bloodline had never properly learned how to wield a sword, truly rare for a family of their stature. Instead, the head of the household appointed a small amount of knights to serve as the protectors of their lands. As a result of their incompetence, the entire house was forced to pack as much as they could and flee to Stormwind when the First War began, causing their manor and lands to be taken by the Orcish Horde. As the Orcs pushed even further to Stormwind, the Verdun household fled north to Lordaeron, like many other noble families; however, in their haste to elude the Orcs, Count Chandler had been mistakenly left behind and was slain like a commoner on the streets, thus forcing Braxton to become the head of the household along with his wife, Madeline. Both were only sixteen at the time and used the death of Chandler as proof that violence only led to destruction and despair, furthering their beliefs on the matter. Upon reaching Lordaeron, Alexander's father decided to move the household to Alteraci lands to stay with an old family friend. Alexander was raised in Alterac with the proper education expected of a nobleman's son. Along with these teachings, he was force fed the belief that violence equated to a life of rejecting the Holy Light; however, he would still always admire the soldiers of the Alliance of Lordaeron, believing them to be courageous to face the Orcs and believing their violence to be for a just cause. When he came of age at fourteen, he enlisted into the military of Lordaeron behind his father's back. Upon his departure with the rest of the soldiers, his father denounced him, thus unofficially stripping him of the honorary title of Viscount, which is traditionally a courtesy title granted to the first born son of a Count or Marquess. In official records, he is still named as the Viscount of Everstill. The house, without Alexander, would stay in Alteraci lands until Stormwind was retaken at the conclusion of the Second War. As he served with the Alliance forces, he caught the eyes of Lord Cathael Adamar, who believed the young Alexander to be a promising soldier. As he progressed within the war, he was selected to be the squire of Lord Adamar, who was well aware of his noble heritage and the beliefs of the household in terms of violence. He fought with the Alliance forces and was able to aid in the retaking Stormwind from the Orcs when he turned twenty. As a result of his actions during the course of the war, he was knighted by Lord Adamar in Stormwind a year later, dubbed as Sir Alexander the Honorable, for his honor in serving the Kingdom of Stormwind in their just cause even with the ramifications of defying the ideals of his household. Family Ties Because his enlistment angered his father so much, his relationship with his family was near non-existent for fourteen years. His father refused to mention Alexander's name throughout the household, and only the oldest, most loyal servants of the family know who he is. In retaliation for his father's denunciation of him, Alexander refused to even contact the family and was unaware of his younger sister, conceived after he had already departed with the Alliance forces in their march against the Orcs. When the Verdun household finally left Alteraci lands to return to the newly reclaimed Kingdom of Stormwind, they happened to witness the knighting ceremony performed for Alexander; however, still clinging to the hatred of his son, Braxton refused to acknowledge him and stalked away with the rest of the household, leaving Alexander completely oblivious of his family's return to Stormwind. His sister - fourteen years his younger - did not even know he existed until he returned. As far as she was concerned, she was an only child and the Verdun lineage would have come to an end when her father had passed. With his return from Draenor, Alexander finally reconciled with his father. His father, after believing he had perished in the wars, was quite elated to find that his eldest son was alive. In the time he had been away, his father's opinions of soldiers had changed, witnessing the bravery of a select few of his own Knights stand in the face of peril to defend the house and its lands. With his return to the family, Alexander was renamed as the Viscount of Everstill. Military History After the Reclamation of the Kingdom of Stormwind, Fighting with the League of Arathor When the Second War concluded, Alexander remained in Stormwind, eternally sworn to the King of Stormwind, Varian Wrynn. As is customary of anyone knighted, he was granted a small portion of land in Elwynn despite his noble roots already owning a large piece of land in Redridge. He was also tasked with aiding the forces of the League of Arathor up in the Arathi Highlands in their fight against the Forsaken, Trolls, and the Ogres in the region. His service would go unnoticed until years later, when the League of Arathor recalled records of his service and dubbed him as an honorary Knight of Arathor, granting him a tabard of the Arathi forces, to wear with honor. The Northrend Campaign Alexander was originally sent to Wintergarde Keep to aid in the defenses of the town; however, with the constant attacks of the Scourge, the town was quickly overrun. He remained there in a desperate attempt to fend off the Scourge until he was tasked to the battle of the Wrathgate. As circumstances would have it, by the time he arrived, he was far in the back of the crowd, allowing for him to slip away quickly as the Forsaken traitors doused both armies of the Alliance and the Horde with their plague. When King Wrynn joined the forward forces on their march against Arthas, Alexander was also called to the front lines and was tasked with fending off the Scourge whilst heroes defeated the Lich King's lieutenants and eventually Arthas himself. When Arthas was slain, he returned to Stormwind and was promoted to the rank of Knight-Lieutenant. The Cataclysm With the coming of Deathwing, Alexander was tasked with remaining in Stormwind in order to be able to fend off any Twilight's Cultists that decided to attack the city itself. This proved to be useful for the city as he aided in the investigation heroes undertook in the infiltration of Twilight Cultists into the ranks of Stormwind. With the knowledge of Major Samuelson's betrayal, he swore to always protect the citizens of Stormwind from any evils that may plague them. The Pandaria Campaign When the mists surrounding Pandaria cleared, Alexander was held back whilst heroes cleared the path for the Stormwind Navy to land on the beaches of Krasarang Wilds. With Operation: Shieldwall occurring, he was sent to the front lines of Pandaria where he served until near the end of the campaign. For his prowess in battle, leadership abilities, and the deaths of several of his commanding officers, Alexander was field promoted several times until he finished the campaign at the rank of Commander as well as being granted the honorary title of Knight-Champion of Stormwind for his valor and combat prowess. Tournament of Ages 34 LC At the Tournament of Ages, held in the Tournament Grounds of Icecrown, Alexander fought well, placing second within the Tournament of Might, the bracket designated for warriors. He placed higher than Marshal Kasper Ke'tar and General Beolrik Orcgrinder, but unfortunately was bested by a Sin'dorei who was only introduced to Alliance forces as Tychus. The Second Invasion of Draenor With the invasion of the Iron Horde into the lands of Azeroth, Alexander was sent to the front lines at the Dark Portal to subdue the invasion and eventually was one of the first sent through the portal with his men in Azeroth's decision to mount a counter-attack. Once through the portal, he fought for days on end, most of the time being separated from his men and other Alliance troops. Wrynn's Vanguard When he was finally found and brought to Stormshield, he learned that all of the men within his command had perished to the brutality of the Iron Horde. Although disheartening, he vowed to continue on fighting in their honor and was appointed by Grand Marshal Tremblade as a Commander of Wrynn's Vanguard on the front lines of the conflict between the Alliance and Horde in Ashran. The Order of EverstillCategory:Stormwind PeerageCategory:WarriorsCategory:CharactersCategory:House of VerdunCategory:HumanCategory:Stormwind HumanCategory:SoldiersCategory:KnightsCategory:Alliance OfficersCategory:Wrynn's Vanguard After reconciling with his father, Alexander was instrumental in the formation of the Order of the Knights of Everstill, an Order of knights that serves the Church of the Holy Light and the Kingdom of Stormwind faithfully in the region of the Redridge Mountains. The knights are called upon by the Archbishop, the King of Stormwind, or the current head of the House of Verdun in a time of need. Notable members include Sir Miles Avery, Sir Kavid Thorson, and Grand Marshal John Padmore, Hero of the Alliance. Redeployment to Draenor Under the orders of Alliance High Command, Alexander was redeployed back to Draenor for an extended amount of time where he led detachments of His Majesty's Vanguard, attempting to lead them to victory against the Horde in Ashran. Gathering of Banners With a tournament held by Marshal Shar'adore in the Coliseum of Light by the Temple of Karabor, Alexander remained as the last warrior standing, one who could not call upon the energies that many of the other contestants could. Although he fought valiantly against the other warriors, he was bested in the semi-finals by a Kaldorei ranger of the Eastern Offensive, Kil'doras Nightwhisper, resulting in a tie between himself and Sir Miles Avery for fourth place. Tournament of Ages 35 LC At the Tournament of Ages, held in the Tournament Grounds of Icecrown, Alexander fought well, placing second within the Tournament of Might, specifically the bracket designated for warriors for the second year in a row. In the double elimination duels, he was bested by Sir Kavid in the third round, forcing him into the "Losers Bracket," where he bested three other of the already bested competitors to challenge Sir Kavid once more in the final where he was defeated once more after a lengthy battle. Relinquishing Command of Wrynn's Vanguard Upon being named as a Captain of the Noble Guard of His Holiness, the Archbishop, Alonsus Secundus, Alliance High Command believed it to be in the Kingdom's best interest to relinquish Command of His Majesty's Vanguard from Alexander in order for him to properly ensure the safety of the Archbishop. With this change, Alexander would still remain a Commander of the Grand Alliance, but would no longer be deployed to Draenor. An Act of Revenge In the midst of battle against the Horde in Ashran a month after the invasion of the Iron Horde's Blackrock Foundry by heroes, Alexander led an offensive push in an attempt to conquer Ashran for the Grand Alliance. The large force was able to push the Horde back to Emberfall Tower where they met heavy resistance from the rallied forces, knowing they were the last line of defense to protect the High Warlord. It was at this point that the large assault team began receiving heavy casualties, and as such, they began targeting the only people supporting the rallied forces - the healers - in order to cripple the Horde as they retreated back towards the Crossroads. With this tactic, Alexander quickly locked eyes on the first healer he could identify, a Sin'dorei Paladin. As the Alliance forces retreated from the tower, Alexander charged into her, slashing her with his claymore, emblazoned with his House Sigil and name on the hilt and pommel, before dropping it in order to retreat with the others without anything weighing him down. The Elf, although in the care of talented healers, died hours later from the blood loss. Unbeknownst to Alexander, the Paladin he had slain was Isabella Duskblade, a cousin of Ken'ther Duskblade and Vyndrean Duskblade, both talented and high ranking soldiers in Quel'Thalas. When the two were shown Isabella's body alongside the claymore that had slain her, they vowed to enact revenge on Alexander for his deeds. Being fluent in Common, Ken'ther was quickly able to identify the name on the blade and made note of the House Sigil. For the next months he and Vyndrean plotted and received intel until one night they, along with fifteen other Blood Knights, flew to the Redridge Mountains and attacked Everstill Manor when the Knights of Everstill were occupied in Tirisfal dealing with Bishop Maeriann's Kidnapping. The Manor, having never seen an attack of this magnitude by competent swordsmen was overrun immediately when the few guards placed around the Manor were caught by surprise. The invasion itself would only be classified as one thing, a slaughter. Although the local militia responded to the racket alongside the soldiers of Stormwind stationed within the region, their efforts were not quick enough. One by one, the inexperienced guards fell like flies to a flame, the guards not even able to strike down more than one Blood Knight. With the arrival of the Stormwind forces; however, the Blood Knights were pushed back, being heavily outnumbered. Several more Blood Knights were brought down, and both Ken'ther and Vyndrean received severe injuries before being forced to retreat atop their Dragonhawks. Although his father and mother survived, his little sister, was not as lucky. Within the Manor, amongst the carnage and death, lay the beaten and mutilated body of Rosanna Verdun, only sixteen years old at the time of her death. When Alexander and the rest of the Knights of Everstill returned from the Tirisfal Glades early the next morning, they were harshly treated with the carnage of the invasion, with dead bodies strewn about carelessly and both the Count and Countess weeping over the body of their little girl and a package dropped hours after the invasion with a note reading: "Alexander. I pray this letter finds you in good health. I had a conversation with your sister over reprimanding you for what you did. She refused to cooperate. This should suffice." When they opened the package, it contained several digits missing from Rosanna's battered body. And on this day, a blood feud started; however, because of his duties, he would push his vengeance aside in order to serve as expected him. Noble Guard of His Holiness, the Archbishop On the night of June 15 627 K.C., Alexander, along with the majority of the Knights of Everstill, were named as Noble Guards of His Holiness, the Archbishop, Alonsus Secundus. Alexander himself was named as a Captain of the Noble Guard alongside Adravessiel Stormhammer.